About Francesca

Anyone who knows me at all would describe me as ambitious, driven, and Type A. Not the most common description for a yogi, but that is me nonetheless. I am also described as warm, nurturing, and grounded, but those attributes have taken time to take root in me. I have my yoga practice to thank for that.

I am incredibly passionate about bringing the benefits of yoga to my fellow over-achievers in a way that is accessible, helpful, and meaningful. I get to say, “I KNOW you want to be super hardcore about everything all the time. BELIEVE ME — I hear you! But also, please TRUST ME — being super hardcore about everything all time will only lead to exhaustion, depletion, and injury. Right now? Right now we are going to be super hardcore about resting on this bolster and lengthening our exhale. And the result? A more vibrant and productive life. I promise.” I believe that introducing more people to the deeply healing benefits of yoga has the power to completely transform our world. I believe the best way to get more people practicing (mindful, therapeutic) yoga is to raise the bar of professionalism (and expect more) from our yoga teachers.

Being driven and ambitious aren’t inherently negative qualities, but left unchecked they created a huge amount of imbalance in me. I was a serious dancer from a very young age and that world fed my aggressive nature. I learned from the dance world that the only way to be successful in such a competitive industry was to work harder every single day than I had the day before. And the way I learned to demand of myself such a rigorous work ethic was to berate my own intelligence and talent and absolutely hate my body. I struggled with seriously disordered eating for more than a decade, and wore out the cartilage in my hips, requiring two major surgeries before the age of 24.

Yoga changed all of that.

I started practicing yoga as a young dancer looking for more flexible hamstrings and stronger arms. My body did change, but quite quickly though, yoga had a much greater impact on my relationship with myself. I started to understand the true success, in the dance world and life in general, would come only as a result of a life lived in balance. The way I related to myself took a full 180 turn and I saw that real strength couldn’t exist in a life lived at a non-stop 110 percent. A muscle is strongest when it is able to contract fully and release completely. In the same way, a person has the most capacity for productivity, engagement, and happiness when there is not only energy going out, but attention placed on developing their inner world.

My tendency to over do everything showed up again as I was starting my yoga teaching career. I said yes to every class I was offered and was teaching (and running!) all over New York City. It didn’t take long for me to find myself exhausted and depleted once again. It was when I started teaching my first private client that everything changed. I finally felt like I was able to help my student create the meaningful change that I knew was possible with a regular yoga practice. As my private practice grew, I was able to slowly give up my gym and studio classes filled with (lovely, but) nameless faces. I got to witness life-changing transformations for my clients in their mind, body, and life.

I offer all my teachings from a deeply nurturing and warm place.

My sharp eye and crystal clear explanations are delivered with love and sweetness.One of my specialties is my ability to meet students where they are and make yoga accessible to anyone. I come to a client entirely without an agenda. This allows me to teach the aspects of yoga that will be most beneficial to the client, helping them achieve balance in all areas of their life. I just love teaching other yoga teachers how to do the same thing!